Pulling No Punches

“Pulling No Punches”

by Barry Hall with Michael Cowley

As premiership captain he was the man. I was in Melbourne in 2005 watching him on a big screen holding the premiership cup aloft. Then more of the same later at Punt Road Oval and the next day at Albert Park. Life couldn’t get much better for him and Sydney Swans supporters.

Fast forward a few years and I am at the ground to witness Barry knockout Brent Staker with a well aimed left cross. It was the worst incident I have witnessed on the football field. Such a fall from grace.

There was so much conjecture at the time about what was really going on behind the scenes. At a time when Barry wanted some privacy he got even more hounded by the media. Speculation was rife. In a way he was his own worst enemy.

It took him a few years but finally Barry is telling his story in his own words. As the title suggests, he is pulling no punches. He is critical of Paul Roos and some former Swans teammates. Though he saves the worst criticism for himself. He freely acknowledges that he put himself into many of these tough situations.

He’s honest about his upbringing. From his father almost disowning him when he gave up boxing to almost killing a man in a fit of rage. He was an angry young man. His anger almost brought his downfall long before he became well known for football talents.

I'm glad Barry got to tell his side of the story. He gave so much to football despite his misgivings. He deserved to go out on a high and well done to the Western Bulldogs for giving him the opportunity to do so. As a Swans fan I think he had to leave the club given everything that had happened. It appears that Roosy could have handled matters differently but the outcome would have probably been the same.

Barry describes situations where he was rightfully frustrated with people not talking to him with too much being played out in the media. This was a media that was on his case since the 2006 grand final loss in which Barry played poorly. That was probably the beginning of the end at Sydney.

There were areas of his story where I thought he would delve deeper. I perceived that there was more to the story than he was telling. Although I applaud his discretion in keeping some matters private.

I suggest all fellow Swans fans have a read to gain some perspective.